WWE's Shinsuke Nakamura's red mist and every other type explained

On last week's edition of WWE's flagship program, Monday Night RAW, Shinsuke Nakamura blindsided Cody Rhodes and caught him with a vile concoction: the red mist.

The King of Strong Style had been hinting at a major feud over the past month or so, with many fans believing his target was CM Punk. Instead, it was the Grandson of a Plumber, Cody Rhodes.

On the latest edition of Monday Night RAW, the former WWE United States Champion explained his reasoning behind marking Cody. During that video, he stated that the mist he used burned the eyes of the American Nightmare.

The poison mist has been an iconic staple in professional wrestling since Gary Hart and Akihisa Mera created the gimmick in the early 80's while working on Mera's "Great Kabuki" character. Per Hart's autobiography, My Life in Wrestling, he came up with the idea when his wife spilled green food coloring.

“I took a little mouthwash, mixed in some green food coloring, poured it into a co***m and tied it off really tight.”

Thanks to that little trick, along with the unique appearance of the Great Kabuki, Mera became a massive star in pro wrestling, and one of the greatest gimmicks in the sport was born. Still, there's a variety of colored liquids that have hindered opponents throughout the decades, each with its own terrifying effect.

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#6. Green Mist - Obscures vision

We'll start things off with the traditional green mist. Even after Great Kabuki's time, this weapon continued to take out opponents all across the globe. Though it's commonly said that this mist blinds opponents, that's not technically true. It's more temporary, like throwing sand or chalk into someone's eyes. It obscures their vision for a few moments, just long enough for the user to catch them with a devastating follow-up assault.

The Great Muta arrived in NWA's World Championship Wrestling in 1989, adopting the mist as his own when his manager Gary Hart introduced him as the son of The Great Kabuki. Muta's original run with WCW was short, but the now iconic legend had fantastic rivalries with the likes of Lex Luger, Ric Flair, and, most importantly, Sting.

Attitude Era fans will know of the legendary Tajiri, who also caught his opponents with the mist before delivering the devastating Buzzsaw Kick to secure victories. In recent years, Asuka began pulling out the green mist as she's teetered on the line between face and heel. Becky Lynch, Chelsea Green, Charlotte Flair, and more have felt the sting of the Empress of Tomorrow's terrifying spray.

The EST of WWE, however, experienced something a bit different.

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#5. Blue Mist - Induces sleep

At this point, especially when it comes to WWE, it seems that most colored mists do one of two things: obscure vision or burn the eyes and face. In the clip above, Asuka caught Bianca Belair off-guard with the blue mist. Throughout the night, fans saw clips of Bianca attempting to clean it from her face, acting as if it was burning her eyes.

While that may have been the purpose of the solution used that night, the blue mist was originally meant to put an opponent to sleep. While not used as often, wrestlers like NJPW's IWGP Heavyweight Champion Sanada have been known to bring it out on occasion.

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#4. Purple Mist - Memory loss

This is an unorthodox entry, as it was only used by one professional wrestler, as far as we're aware. Former TNA/IMPACT Knockout Roxxi Laveaux was originally introduced to the promotion as a "Voodoo Queen" in association with the Voodoo Kin Mafia featuring the former WWE duo the New Age Outlaws, known then as BG James (Road Dogg) and Kip James (Billy Gunn).

Early on in her run, Laveaux would wrestle like a woman who was recently brought back from the dead, shuttering and stumbling awkwardly as if her body was halfway through the process of rigor mortis. One night, she caught an opponent with purple mist, which was said to cause memory loss.

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#3. Yellow Mist - Paralyzing

Another rare concoction is the yellow mist. While an opponent will often be seen writhing in pain or struggling to clear their eyes of any intrusive liquids, anyone met with this mist would struggle to react at all.

The yellow mist is said to cause an opponent to go through temporary paralysis. A hilarious video about the kayfabe science in wrestling from YouTube channel Dave Knows Wrestling highlights most of the mists mentioned in this list. In it, it's claimed that the kayfabe science behind it is that it uses a neurotoxin similar to those found in some forms of the spitting cobra.

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#2. Black Mist - Blinding

You may have noticed Malakai Black in the cover photo of this article. The House of Black's members, mainly Black himself and Julia Hart, have been known to use black mist to attack their opponents. While it is used to obscure the vision of their opponents, the House of Black's variation of this weapon has caused victims to go through a sort of metamorphosis.

Much like anyone who ever feuded with The Fiend, some wrestlers who have come into contact with the HOB's mist – most notably Hart – have been corrupted in some way.

Originally, though, the black mist was used to blind an opponent. Instead of the usual effect, anyone hit with this solution could be blinded for days or even weeks. Tajiri used this in WWE for a time, blinding Nidia. However, it was later revealed that Nidia may have been faking it for some time after it wore off.

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#1. WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura's Red Mist - Burning sensation

Last but not least, the reason this list was started. Shinsuke Nakamura has been using the dreaded red mist this year, surprising WWE World Champion Seth Rollins with it at Fastlane before sending him off a ladder through a table.

This variation burns the eyes of the opponent, leaving them writhing in pain and open for a devastating attack. Nakamura brought this weapon back against Cody Rhodes last week, and we can expect him to pull it out on WWE Monday Night RAW next week when he and the American Nightmare face off.

Many of the stars discussed in this article have used red mist in the past. The Great Muta commonly sprayed the blood-red concoction, as did Tajiri, who used it to steal the WWE Cruiserweight Championship from fellow legend Rey Mysterio.

In IMPACT Wrestling, former Knockouts World Champion Su Yung also used it on occasion and was actually forced to choke on her own supply by Deonna Purrazzo in a shocking moment.

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What's your favorite version of the poison mist in wrestling? Which would you like to see used next in WWE, AEW, or your favorite promotion? Let us know in the comments below!